Haseo stood within a vast, pitch-black underground space. Even Kagenami's underground base didn't possess this degree of desolation.
Who knew how such an enormous subterranean project was constructed.
Yet aside from its spacious emptiness, this place also felt familiar to Haseo. Shortly after arriving in Konoha, he had come here before. Back then, the Uchiha clan within the village had grown restless, so he returned from the Front Line and joined Anbu to become one of their operatives. He received his Anbu mask here before carrying out surveillance on the Uchiha.
But… whether that faint sense of familiarity deepened or eased Haseo's loneliness, even he himself couldn't tell.
Everything remained, yet everyone had changed.
So Haseo let himself linger in those feelings for just a moment, completely ignoring the four Anbu ninjas around him.
They stood facing each other in silence for a while, until one of the Anbu ninjas could no longer hold back and finally spoke.
"Are you Lord Haseo of Kagenami? May I ask what brings you here to Anbu headquarters?"
"Ah, oh."
Only now did Haseo snap back to reality. Rubbing his head, he realized it wasn't the time to indulge in sentimentality. So he pulled out the order scroll issued by the Third Hokage and handed it over to the ninja who had just spoken.
The ninja accepted the written command, carefully verifying its contents with great seriousness. Once certain there were no issues, he finally tucked it away.
"Lord Haseo, please follow me," he said next.
Haseo nodded slightly before following behind this Anbu squad.
After winding through countless twists and turns deep within this underground expanse, the Anbu ninja brought Haseo to a concealed prison—a stronghold among many bases controlled by Anbu, likely the most important one.
Haseo had come here specifically to take away seven hardened criminals whose crimes merited no forgiveness—individuals possessing extraordinary strength, chakra reserves far beyond ordinary standards, and particularly robust physical endurance.
He needed exactly this kind of ninja—whether they were spies from rival villages or criminals within Konoha itself.
Standing before the prison entrance, Haseo examined the narrow doorway ahead. After stretching out both hands to measure it briefly, he ultimately decided to remove Samehada from his back and carry it in his hand...
It wasn't that Haseo planned on causing damage—it was just that the doorway was far too narrow otherwise. Previously, he had carried Samehada horizontally across his back, but since this blade measured at least two meters long, there was absolutely no way it would pass through sideways.
And so, a rather unusual sight unfolded—as Haseo dragged his massive blade into Anbu's hidden prison, radiating an air that dared anyone to challenge him.
Immediately upon entering the prison, Haseo sensed Samehada twitch slightly in his grasp. But it wasn't hard to understand—this place stank of old blood and rot.
Even after entering the prison, Anbu wouldn't allow Haseo to personally handpick individuals to take away. Such work could only be handled by Anbu instead. As long as the candidates provided by Anbu met Haseo's requirements, it would suffice.
So Haseo could only "tour" around here. However, after walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turning his gaze toward a cell on the right side… Inside, there was a man bound to a cross.
His hands, feet, and neck were all firmly fastened, with a sealing formula carved into his forehead — one Haseo didn't recognize. One of the man's eyes remained tightly shut, yet its eyelid had sunken inward. Half his face was smeared with dried blood; clearly, one of his eyes had already been removed.
But that wasn't the key point. The crucial detail was that Haseo saw the man's remaining eye… Its iris was a full, crimson red, and surrounding the pupil were three comma-like tomoe marks.
He belonged to the Uchiha clan — fate really had a twisted sense of humor when it came to run-ins like this.
"Haseo-sama, this man must not leave Anbu custody."
Seeing Haseo stop, and following his line of sight to notice the individual who'd drawn his attention, the Anbu ninja warned him thus.
"This kind of trouble, I have no interest in getting involved. I wouldn't even want this guy if you gave him to me."
Haseo remarked — was he out of his mind to willingly bring home a bleeding Uchiha? What possible use would that be? For decoration?
Possibly not wanting Haseo to see more of Anbu's secrets, the masked ninja acted quickly, choosing seven prisoners within no time at all.
Then under cover of night, they helped Haseo transport these seven individuals to Kagenami's underground base.
These seven people would temporarily be detained by Kagenami; as for how they would be dealt with afterward, that was beyond the Anbu ninja's knowledge… In fact, they weren't particularly interested in such matters.
Many prisoners, once sufficiently interrogated and squeezed for every last drop of value, would be taken away by various departments within Konoha. Those luckier might go to Konoha Hospital to "assist" in medical research; others less fortunate would end up in Root or other unnamed secret facilities, subjected to all kinds of human experiments.
Therefore, regarding something considered routine, the Anbu naturally viewed it as nothing unusual.
The seven prisoners were brought to a hidden chamber located at the very bottom of Kagenami, then placed under the supervision of a squad composed entirely of Uzumaki shinobi.
Various sealing techniques had been applied to the prisoners' bodies, making escape absolutely impossible. Hence, the primary duty of their guards wasn't to prevent them from fleeing — but rather to stop them from committing suicide through some bizarre, unconventional means.
Wanting death was perfectly normal behavior for these people — who could know what exactly they had experienced inside Anbu's dungeons before?
Whether being made into an Impure World Reincarnation sacrifice counted as liberation for them, though, was anyone's guess.
...
One night passed, and the next day arrived.
Although nobody knew exactly what preparations the organization was busily making for, many among Kagenami's shinobi felt an atmosphere of tension mixed with subtle oppression. Influenced by this mood, all the ninjas began acting cautiously, treating every task and duty with meticulous seriousness.
The very purpose of creating Kagenami was for this moment. The decisive hour for Kagenami had finally arrived.
Three days from now, the plan would finally kick off. To prevent the Nine-Tails' activity from drawing unwanted attention, it would unfold in a hidden, untraceable location.
It wasn't until now that Haseo met the other eight Uzumaki shinobi who would participate in the mission alongside Mito Uzumaki—because ensuring the independence of the split Nine-Tails chakra required caution, the approach taken was conservative. Although using Shadow Clones to perform [Dead Demon Consuming Seal] was feasible, this method introduced uncertainties during the splitting process and later summoning stages, so it had been discarded.
Each separated Tailed Beast would be sealed inside an individual body, meaning eight people were the absolute minimum needed—seven to execute the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal] and [Four Symbols Seal], and one person to release the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal] afterward.
This was the long-standing plan, yet there was something Haseo hadn't known beforehand—he saw among the eight the old clan leader of the Uzumaki.
"Clan Leader, you..."
"Haha, Haseo, what's the surprise? Don't I look old enough?"
Words failed Haseo in that moment. Indeed, the clan leader was aging, but he remained the Uzumaki head. Nobody could ever expect him to personally join such an operation... unless he volunteered himself.
Perhaps, this was the only way for him to show true responsibility—not only demanding sacrifices from others but also being willing to sacrifice himself.
Such an act ensured the clan leader's position remained unquestionable and proved that this entire operation stemmed purely from selfless intentions.
If even the clan leader refused to cling onto life, then for other Uzumaki ninja participating in the mission, no further explanation was necessary—perhaps nobody else needed convincing, but the old clan leader still believed he should provide this justification.
Kid, a new era is beginning. We weren't particularly active before, but after this mission, we can proudly claim to have brought a new age to the Uzumaki Clan—a rare opportunity indeed for us ancient relics who're practically knocking on heaven's door.
At last, we've done something great in our final years—even if it may have come just a little too late.
An elder spoke these words, and following his statement, laughter arose from the rest. Then, seven individuals stepped forward—one by one handing Haseo blood samples stored within glass vials.
How much did blazing a new trail for the Uzumaki Clan truly mean? Haseo couldn't say exactly. Yet judging by their open and carefree attitudes, he felt as though this group of elders resembled mourners offering themselves as sacrifices for the old Uzumaki legacy.
Every ninja meets their end eventually—but that's why the way they face death matters most.
Openness mixed with sorrow, sorrow blended with fulfillment, and hope intertwined within satisfaction—all etched into their wrinkled faces, eyes crinkled with quiet smiles.
So, from Haseo's standpoint as an onlooker, what could he possibly say at a moment like this? Not a word escaped his lips as he quietly gathered up the blood vials.
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